Chapter Text
Rufioh glided above the glistening water of the sea, staying low to avoid easy detection. Land was a hazy sliver of brown on the horizon to his left, and to his right, the ocean seemed to go on forever. Without stopping or slowing, he pulled a small spy glass from his pocket and glanced around. Nothing was visible on the waves to the east, but to the west, a white object rested in what seemed to be a secluded cove, dwarfed by tall, eroding rock formations. He tucked the spy glass away and veered to the left.
Conscious of his vulnerability, he flew towards land far from the cove and curved his path to hug the rocky cliff walls for a more stealthy approach. The ship was a three mast frigate, and its sails were visible from behind the rock arches that enclosed the cove. Rufioh landed behind the leg of the arch and peeked around. The ship was quiet. A pirate flag, displaying troll affiliation, flew above the crow's nest. A number of rowboats had been pulled onto the pebbled shore. Rufioh listened carefully, but there was no sign of pirates.
With a deep breath, Rufioh gathered his wits and snuck from behind the rock arch. He spread his wings and skimmed the top of the water, staying as low as possible, and he hovered beneath the bow, listening. No noise floated down from the deck. Carefully, he ascended, trying to keep the movement of his wings as silent as possible. He peeked over the deck, and no one was there. After a final glance around, he propelled himself over the railing and onto the deck of the ship.
"Tavros...?" he whispered, tiptoeing across the deck. A gentle breeze disturbed the fabric of the sails, but nobody answered. Inhaling, he called again, more loudly, "Tavros?"
"Rufioh?" somebody called back. Rufioh's heart skipped a beat, and he looked in the direction of the sound. He heard a scraping noise from the lower levels of the ship coming up from one of the large, gridded openings on the deck, and second later, a hand emerged, waving him over.
"Tavros!" he said, kneeling by the opening. He reached down and grasped Tavros's hand. "Hang on, lil' man. We'll get you out...probably...just let me figure out how to open this gate..."
"You don't have to open it, because I'm not stuck down here, actually," Tavros said. "I just have to go out the doorway, which is over there, and then meet you on the upper deck. But we have to be quiet, because everyone is sleeping, since we were sailing all night, and all day too, I think, but I slept then while everyone else was working, because I don't know how to do anything right on a ship, apparently."
"Bangarang," Rufioh whispered in excitement. "I thought this shit was going to be tougher than this...it's a good thing it's not!"
"Um, I wouldn't get too comfortable yet, if I were you," Tavros said, glancing around him. Looking back at Rufioh, he said with a worried look on his face, "I know a group went to land, probably to get supplies or raid a village or do other similarly pirate-like things that I wasn't allowed to do as well, and I think there may be someone on watch, but I don't know where."
"Well...there's nobody up here, so I don't think they're watching very well..." Rufioh said, glancing around as well. The deck was still empty.
"No, I don't think so either. When Vriska isn't yelling orders, nobody cares very much what's happening. They just all want to get paid, I think, which makes sense why they're working for her, since she has a lot of money. But, uh, I don't think we should think of that as an invitation to being careless, or otherwise sloppy in our actions, because she can control minds, even from far away. I don't know if she's still on the ship, or if she is, if she's sleeping..."
"Then we'd better hurry up, my man," Rufioh said, releasing Tavros's hand. "Get up on this deck, and...try to be quiet, okay?"
"I don't think so."
Rufioh jumped and moved to turn around, but he froze in place as a flash of steel drew his attention to a blade leveled at his throat. He heard Tavros gasp. Standing above him was a troll in a long, blue coat, showing off her fangs with a cocky smirk.
"Tavros, who is this?" Vriska asked, keeping the tip of her sword at Rufioh's neck as she circled around him. "Bones and hair die? What a tool! Don't tell me you know this loser."
"Uh, actually, I do. He's--"
"Are you serious? This is the crowd you keep? No wonder you're the way you are."
"Yo, that's not cool," Rufioh said, slowly standing. "Tavros is my kin, and I'm here to save him..."
Vriska smirk widened. "Ooooooooh, I see the resemblance now!" she said, shooting a glance at Tavros. "One of you can't say a full sentence without faltering, and the other's sentences trail away like you're scared you're saying something wrong! Spinelessness must run in the family!"
"Man, so chilly...why do we find all the crazy bitches..."
"What'd you say, punk?" Vriska asked, jabbing the sword into his chest. He took a step back and put his hands up. Vriska eyed him and scowled. "Okay, let's cut the crap. How'd you get onto my ship, and where are your pals? I know you didn't come alone. Are you with the Alternians, or the Beforans?"
"Neither...I don't have affiliations like that shit..."
"Don't mess with me. Answer the questions. I don't have time for..." she waved at his outfit, "whatever the hell you're trying to pass yourself off as."
Rufioh glanced between her eyes and her sword before answering, "I'm a leader of the Lost Boys..."
Vriska's face dropped and she groaned. "Damn it, if I had known your kind was going to get involved, I would have just killed him outside of the castle. That's just what I need, a bunch of rogues on my ass. Fuck." She prodded him in the chest with her sword again, and he stepped back to avoid a cut. "So where are the rest of you? Are you hiding? Tavros, wake everyone up. I want the whole ship armed and active."
Tavros immediately scurried away to do her bidding, and Rufioh looked down in alarm. "Hey, bro, don't do that!"
"It's no use reasoning with him," Vriska said, and her scowl became a smirk again. "I have him wrapped around my fingers. He can't help but do what I tell him to. Do you know why?"
"No...but I don't like the sound of it..."
"You shouldn't! Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"
Rufioh looked her over with growing disquiet. "A normal pirate, I hope...that would be pretty dope..."
"Wrong! I'm not just any pirate." Her smirk became a malicious grin. "You're talking to Vriska Serket, soon to be the best known pirate in all of Skaia! You know why I'm going to be the best pirate?"
"No..."
"Well, you know what they say about bluebloods with psychic powers, don't you?"
"Shit..." Rufioh said as the sound of angry trolls grew louder from the lower levels of the ship. From the noises rising through the wood, it was evident that there were plenty of trolls still aboard and that they were all arming themselves.
"That's a good answer!" Vriska said, laughing. "I hope you and your 'lost boys' are prepared to fight, because none of you are getting off this ship unscathed!"
She lunged forward with her sword, and Rufioh moved the side, drawing a dagger and parrying the jab in one smooth motion. He jumped into the air and unfurled his wings. Vriska's mouth fell open.
"A mutant?" she said. "Is that how you got on my ship?"
"You can look for the others, but you won't find them..." Rufioh said as a group of trolls burst out of the door to the lower levels. They blinked up at him in shock. Rufioh clutched his dagger. "You'd better believe I'll be back, though...and I'll have friends..."
"You'd better hope your friends have strong minds, or else they're going to be my friends, just like your little kin!" Vriska said with a laugh.
"I'll be back, Tavros!"
"Better get going before you get shot out of the air!" As Vriska finished the statement, a number of arrows flew past him. With a final glance through the grate, he flew himself higher and sped away from the boat, back to where he knew his own crew was waiting for him.
He kept his eyes on the horizon, scanning the water for the small boat he and the other rogues had rented to track down Vriska. To his dismay, a much larger ship, another frigate, appeared in the distance instead, and he descended again to the surface of the water where he could fly with stealth. He decreased his speed and pulled out his spy glass, but there were no signs of the boat he left Roxy and Nepeta on. "Shit..." he said, and his stomach dropped.
As he approached, however, he heard a familiar voice calling to him. "Rufioh!" Roxy shouted. He looked across the water through his spy glass, bewildered. Finally, he zeroed in on Roxy's location. Both she and Nepeta hung over the side of the frigate, waving at him enthusiastically. They seemed unharmed, even excited. Confused, Rufioh put the spy glass away and rose away from the water's surface, picking up speed. He reached the ship within minutes.
"How'd it go?" Roxy asked as he hovered by the side of the ship, examining it with confusion. "Did you find him? Hey, Ruf, I'm talking to you!"
"What's all this...?" he asked.
"We were found!" Nepeta explained. "Some purrson Roxy knew once saw us and decided to help us!"
"Who?"
"That'd be me, champ." A well-groomed troll with slick hair and an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth walked up to them, saluting Rufioh in a dramatic fashion that was mostly unnecessary.
"Wait, but...you're from the Beforan court, right?"
"Who's asking?" Cronus wagged his eyebrows at him, and Rufioh grimaced. Roxy laughed.
"Back off our man," she said to Cronus, and she turned to Rufioh. "Poor Rufioh, everyone wants to hit on you all the time. Teach me your charming, bishie ways, and I can help take some of that pressure off of you." She winked at him.
"Don't mind her, Rufioh, she's...you know," Nepeta said, miming the motion of throwing back a bottle of alcohol.
"Really?" Rufioh said with a note of disappointment.
"Hey, no judging," Roxy said, trying to stand up straighter. "I know we're in the middle of stuff, and I'm taking it easy. I'm fiiiiine."
"She's been worse," Cronus said. "I've seen it."
"We know she has," Nepeta said with a sigh. "Rufioh, what did you see?"
"It's no use, doll..." Rufioh said, floating over the rail of the ship and sitting down on it. He sighed heavily. "She's got mind powers...she's in his head, and I couldn't get him away...we're going to need back-up."
"Well, lucky you, we just so happen to be back-up," Cronus said, his accent making him sound much more pretentious than he meant to sound. Rufioh eyed him and glanced at Nepeta.
"He's not the one in charge!" she clarified quickly.
"Yeah, we'd be so screwed," Roxy said with a laugh. "No offense, Cro, but fo' real, if you were in charge of this boat and all the stuff that we're about to go do, we'd've already suck it. Sunk it."
"Don't you trust me?" Cronus asked, mostly to Roxy, and she laughed again.
"Then who is in charge...?" Rufioh asked before Roxy could retort.
"That would be me." Rufioh turned around. Aranea came out of the cabin, carrying a map and a book.
"Whoa...wait a minute..." Rufioh said, putting his hands up. He looked at Nepeta, and she smiled back at him, confused about his reaction. "Is this...?"
"I can understand your concern," Aranea said. "I am Aranea, from the Beforus court. I am the Beforus sylph."
"Btw," Roxy interrupted, "what even is a slyph?"
Aranea sighed. "Don't worry about it," she said before returning her attention to Rufioh. "You've snuck around the Alternian court before, I've heard. Your brother and his maid friend let you in. You've seen me, haven't you?"
Rufioh paused and thought. "Oh yeah..." he said, recalling her face. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, doll...you sort of look like this crazy broad I just met..."
"Vriska?"
"Hey, yeah...do you know her?"
"Personally? No, I don't. But we're about to go meet her."
"We are?" Rufioh glanced at Nepeta.
"We have to confront her eventually," Aranea said before Nepeta could explain. "We do need to get your brother back, after all, and we can't have a pirate with such a powerful psychic ability sailing the seas. It wouldn't hurt to retrieve that ring for the Alternians, either. Perhaps our peace talks will actually prove fruitful for once if we present such a symbol of our goodwill."
"Oh...so your prince sent you to take care of this crazy shit..."
"Not exactly." Aranea smiled. "We came of our own accord. We have our reasons."
"Reasons which you still haven't told me about," Cronus said, grumbling. "Why did I even agree to do this?"
"What are you bitchin' about?" Roxy said. "Look, you got to see me! Isn't that worth all the stupid political or kind-of-political-but-not-really quests you could get dragged on without any idea what's happening? What am I sayin', I bet you forgot about me."
"How could anyone forget you?" Cronus said. "Of course I remember. I even made our adventure into an epic poem. The court won't let me perform it (or anything else I wrote), but maybe I could play it for you. It's not like there's anything else to do."
"Oh yeah, you're a bard!"
"That's right. I'm the best there is."
"He says as if there's any contest," Aranea said as he and Roxy wandered off. She returned her attention to Rufioh and Nepeta. "If you'll take our help, we want to right the wrongs performed by Vriska. Lead me to her, and I will speak with her. If she proves undiplomatic, then we will take her by force."
"Bangarang!" Rufioh said, grinning. "That plan sounds dope. Thanks, doll."